New vitamin D research proves what I've been saying for years

A recent study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology gives even more support to what I've been telling you for some time: that not getting enough vitamin D can be bad for your heart.

Dr. James O'Keefe from the Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City recently reviewed the many studies linking a lack of vitamin D to all manner of cardiovascular maladies. He found that a lack of vitamin D "is associated with major risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and stiffening of the left ventricle of the heart and blood vessels."

He also points out that people with vitamin D deficiency have increased inflammation, a key indicator of heart disease.

Personally, I can't get enough vitamin D, but most people get a lot less than they should. A study I told you about not long ago found that an alarming 90% of adults aged 50-70 weren't getting enough vitamin D - and that only 2 percent of those over 70 were getting enough of this precious bone-booster from their diets.

So get out in the sun and soak up as much as you can. And remember, you can get this nutrient from salmon and other deepwater fish, too.

Heard the latest about autism?

Researchers recently discovered a new and interesting fact about kids with autism: they process sound slower than other kids. It's just a fraction of a second slower, but it's believed that this finding could be a significant insight into the many language and listening problems that plague the children who suffer from this cruel disorder.

There are many variations to the autism "spectrum," but the impairment of even the most basic forms of communication is one of the hallmarks of the disorder. Researchers detected the sound delay issue using magnetic imaging of brain activity in autistic children.

Study author Timothy Roberts says that the hope is that magnetic imaging techniques can detect the issue earlier, so that children can be treated earlier.

Often, autism is not detected in children until they are toddlers. But with autism, early intervention is key to putting kids on the right therapies so their particular place on the "spectrum" can be better understood. So while this new technique can't pinpoint the "why's" of autism, it's a potentially huge weapon in the struggle to help the "how's" of dealing with the disorder.